Space With Nowhere to Run
by Rin Shiroko
Summary: M.K. receives an early morning call from Nod and things change... and fast. Will the changes that happen bring M.K. and Nod closer, or will the difference in rank cause a problem for the two? Horrible summary. Short story. M.K. and Nod.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

_Shrunk by a Queen… Again_

A familiar beeping woke me up from the good dream I was having and I reached over and sleepily hit the pager, stopping the high-pitched alarm.

Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair.

_The calls just keep getting earlier and earlier. _I mentally groaned as I stood and headed down the big, beautiful staircase. I flopped into the big swivel chair and powered on the computer screen, yawning as the old thing booted up. Finally the screen turned from the black emptiness to the image of my Leafman boyfriend (is that what you could call us, even if we are in two completely different worlds? I like to think so.).

"Hey, Nod. Haven't we already discussed morning hour calls?" I began, but he cut me off, frantically saying, "Yeah, I know and I wouldn't be calling unless it's important."

Nod was glancing around and waving off the comments of some of his regiment.

"What's goin' on?" I asked slowly, seeing his serious expression.

"Well, the queen kinda, um, just _snapped _and now she's asking- more like demanding- that you come before her."

"Oh, no. What did I do?" I asked, running through things I might've done. Was it maybe the big spider I smashed yesterday, or the bouquet of daffodils I picked?

"Dunno, but whatever it is, it's big." Nod shrugged.

"Ah, well, alright, I'll meet you in the clearing in fifteen minutes, okay?" I asked, standing.

"Yeah, sure. Under fifteen would be better, 'kay?" Nod said, mounting his hummingbird.

"Mhmm." I responded absently.

"Hey, don't worry too much. I'll see ya in a lil' while, M.K." He flashed me a dazzling and reassuring smile. Did he know how much that little gesture helped ease my nerves?

"Yeah, see ya." I smiled back, unable to prevent the little blush that painted my cheeks a light pink. Thank god the resolution of the outdoor screen wasn't HD.

I hurried upstairs and quickly showered and dressed, throwing on my combat boots and pulling my hair into a ponytail.

I grabbed an apple from the fridge and wrote a quick note to my dad on a sticky note and stuck it on his headset. He'd either find it or I'd be back before he noticed.

The sun was warm as it touched the dew covered grass and lit the tree tops with warm pink light. It was hard to believe that it was almost fall. A whole year to the day since the pod bloomed and I came back. This was weird. The anniversary of the day we took care of Mandrake and fulfilled the queens wishes and all of a sudden the queen wants to talk to me. Great. I was about to get the smack down from an inch tall little girl.

I heard the familiar sound of wings before I saw them. I brought the ear piece that I had made up to my ear and powered it on. The whole headset thing had become too heavy and awkward to put on.

The flock of multicolored hummingbirds zipped around my head and I let out a cheerful laugh at the sight of them. One in particular caught my eye and I watched as it flew around me once and rested on my shoulder.

The only problem with not having the headset was the fact that Nod was a bit blurry and hard to watch. But I could still hear his voice when he sat next to my ear and whispered, "Hey, It's been a while since I've seen you in person. You're… big."

I rolled my eyes and poked at him.

"You're not supposed to say that to women." I laughed.

"I meant big in a good, non-offensive way." Nod said quickly.

"Mhmm," I sighed. "So, where's the queen?" I looked around for the white flower girl, but couldn't find her.

"She's back at Moonhaven with her mother, who, might I just say, seems to still be in shock."

"So, I'm just gonna go and talk to her there?" I asked. The only Stomper to have gone to Moonhaven besides me was my dad. And he was definitely the only big one.

"From what I understand. That said, they don't tell me much." Nod shrugged.

The trek through the woods was longer than what it would've been on the birds, but I'm pretty sure that was out of the question.

When Moonhaven came into view, it still had the warm glow that had surrounded it the first night I had seen it. It took my breath away. I stepped on the rocks, avoiding the nature people, and finally made it to the large rock that served as the palace. The queen stood, arms crossed and blurry, but the feeling of importance was obvious.

"Uh, hi, Your Highness." I waved, attempting to look unafraid, but honestly, this little chick had more power in her pinky than I had in, well, I don't really have any power, so, my whole being.

"She made a mistake." The girl said.

Confused, I asked, "Who made a mistake?"

"Queen Tara. _She _made a mistake."

My mouth opened and I felt Nod get off of his bird and lean on my neck.

"How is that even possible?" I breathed.

The queen shrugged her tiny shoulders and replied, "It wasn't supposed to be. That's the problem. Queen Tara had chosen me. And everything was awesome until suddenly, the pod wouldn't respond to me anymore. I have to concentrate a lot more on things to get any sort of result. I'm losing my power. That's why," she pointed at me and the wind picked up, tugging at my shirt and hair.

"I'm bringing you back here."

"W-wait!" I stammered as I tried to resist the magic, knowing it was futile. Nod had hastily climbed atop his hummingbird and taken off from my shoulder. The Leafmen all circled around me, obviously preparing to catch me when I went mini.

The trees around me got bigger as I got smaller and the earth suddenly felt a lot farther away as the wind picked me up and blew me around. I dropped, totally shrunk, and screamed as the earth reached to meet me. I inhaled sharply as I dropped into strong arms.

Looking up, I saw Nod grin at me.

"Don't let me fall that far again." I muttered angrily trying to calm my beating heart; part of its frantic attempt to exit my chest had nothing to do with the fall, but more to do with who caught me.

"Yes, ma'am." Nod laughed lowly.

We landed on the ledge the queen was standing on and Nod let me go after giving me a discreet hug.

"What on earth were you thinking, shrinking me again?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, what else would you have me do? You're the only one who can help, and you're the one who has handled the pod before." The little girl's stubborn attitude was getting on my nerves. So she gets some magic and suddenly I have to listen to her.

"Listen up-" I started, but Nod put a firm hand on my shoulder, warning me not to voice my thoughts as Ronin stepped forward.

"My lady, perhaps you should be a bit kinder to your guest." He hinted.

She harrumphed but nodded in consent. "Very well. I am sorry for being rude, I'm just a bit frustrated and want to know what's going on."

I took a deep breath and took a tentative step towards her. "It's alright. I can understand a bit." I looked around and continued, "Now, let's take a look at that pod."

The queen dismissed all of the servants and led Ronin, Nod, and I down the corridor to the "nursery" room where the pod was blooming beautifully, a many different shades of pinks and purples.

"Hey, little guy." I said, touching one of the vines that had spilled over the side of the basin. It wrapped around my finger in recognition and I giggled. I glanced around the room and I could see little bits of flowers and grass sprouting in the cracks made by Mandrake.

The queen sighed in irritation.

"See, this is exactly what I was talking about. Around you, it's magical again. Around _me, _however, it turns into an average pod. Goes blank."

To make her point, the queen touched the pod's petals and it froze, the little vine dropping back down into the basin.

My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to work it out. It shouldn't do that, especially around the queen.

"I-I don't know why it's doing that."

"No one does. I even asked Nim about it." The girl sighed, exasperated. Then her eyes narrowed. "Unless, it's picked itself a new queen…"

She advanced on me and before I could back up, she pressed her hand to my forehead. A tingly sensation erupted from her touch and traveled down my spine. My eyes widened and I inhaled at the sudden feeling.

Around me I could vaguely see the room in motion. Nod reached for his sword as he made to lunge to me, and Ronin blocked his path. Servants and other people I couldn't identify moved to either defend me or to block my defenders. Then the tingling stopped and I backed unsteadily away. Ronin let Nod move around him and he rushed to my side just as my legs gave out. Like they usually did when he was around.

"You alright, M.K.?" He whispered.

"Mm, yeah, probably." I replied, bringing a hand to my head.

"Easy does it…" He muttered as helped me up, keeping his arm around my waist to support me.

"Thanks for putting your arm around me." I laughed lightly.

"Well, it's not like you hardly know me." His eyes twinkled at me and for a minute, we were in our own world. It felt good to have him beside me and actually feel his warmth again, rather than just seeing him through a lens.

"Ahem." Ronin cleared his throat and we looked away, blushing.

"I was correct in my assumption." The queen said. She didn't look mad, exactly, more sad and a little bit relieved.

"What assumption?" I breathed; not truly wanting to know the answer and my stomach sank with what I knew was coming.

"I was not meant to be queen, at least not anymore. You are." She said, and for the first time since this meeting, she smiled.

**Hello, guys. I just watched Epic for the 6 billionth time and I decided to make a short fanfic for it. I don't really plan on this being long, but if ya'll like it enough, I might continue it. So, until I know what ya'll think I'll only do a chapter or two.**

**-Rin**


	2. Chapter 2 Queen? Why Me?

_Chapter 2_

_Queen? Why Me?_

After she said this, the noblemen that had been standing around the room rushed to the queen's side, questions flying from their mouths.

I had my own set, that was for sure, but at that moment, all I could think of was the fact that the queen had just said that I was queen. That was impossible of course, but to my dismay, all at once everyone in the room turned on me, looking toward the source of the gold light that had flickered to life. I rolled my eyes and closed them, thinking, _Why, in the name of all things good, did this have to happen to _me_. Haven't I already done enough?_

But, as it seemed, the forest wasn't done with me just yet. Not in the least.

Glancing down, I looked at myself and saw my arms shimmering and bare; my clothes replaced by a smooth gown of petals. My hair fell into my eyes, my hair tie disappearing to God knows where.

"Aw, man!" I groaned.

The people all knelt in unison and the queen smiled at me, all her magic leaving her and going to me.

"But, I don't want this." I whimpered to her.

"You do not have a choice. The pod picked you and there isn't anything I can do about it." She reached up and touched my arm. "You're here for a reason. I'm not sure what it is, but you're here and you are our queen. For the record…" She leaned in close. "I think you'll be an awesome one."

"But that doesn't mean- I'm not meant to- " I stuttered, but the queen just shook her head and said, "It is out of my hands. I'm sorry that you did not want this." And with that, she found her mother's eyes and held out her childish hand. Together, with one last look at me, they left.

I just stood there gaping at the door, waiting for the alarm to go off and for me to wake in my bed, my dad telling me I have a call. But that didn't happen. No. Instead, I was grabbed by several people and rushed out of the room.

"Nod!" I yelled, turning to gaze at him as the people tugged me through the door. Stunned at first, he hurriedly tried to push through the crowd, but had to give up and trail behind me due to the amount of people.

"Your Highness, what is your first order of business?"

"What do you wish to do for your coronation ceremony?"

"What do you think about the mouse problem on the eastern border?"

The questions bombarded me and I stumbled over my words, unsure on what to say. We made it to a room that I'd never seen before and I was rushed inside, the people following me in. I needed a break, some air and silence for two seconds and I was about to explode when, thank goodness, Ronin and Nod appeared, backed up by Mub and Grub.

"Everyone, just back up and give the new queen some space." Ronin managed to get everyone to give me a good three (would you say inches or feet if in proportion to size, they gave you three feet, but in actuality they gave three inches? I'm gonna go with feet.) feet of space.

"Thanks." I sighed.

"No problamo, baby girl." Mub said.

I would've laughed if I hadn't been so overwhelmed, but, sadly, that was an understatement.

"Could you all give me a little bit to, um, process everything?" I asked the crowd quietly. And to my surprise, they all consented and with swift bows, exited the room.

"Oh. My. God." I said as I sat on the nearest object. Which just so happened to be a sofa made of soft cotton and good smelling wood.

"That was… unexpected." Nod said as he sat next to me, an awkward distance between us.

"What?" I questioned, eyeing it. Anxiety set in as I wondered if maybe I was the only one who felt we were something… special. That would explain the awkwardness.

"Well, you, um, first off, look really nice." He shot me a sideways look and a small smile. "Second, you the _queen_. I can't just be, you know, relaxed, around you like before."

"And why not? I'm still M.K. and you're still Nod." I slid closer, earning a bigger smile from him.

"Yeah, but there's a protocol thing that if my commanding officer sees," he jabbed his thumb at Ronin, "I can get in big trouble and I really won't be able to see you again. Plus you're a queen and I'm just a soldier."

Ronin shrugged his shoulders. "You are probably more than a soldier, considering your _relationship_."

"So, sorta like you and Tara?" asked Nod, averting his gaze, a slight blush creeping to his cheeks.

"Yeah. Just like that." Ronin's voice was sad as he answered Nod's question.

"So, it's alright for me to do this?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, for which I was grateful. He felt so safe.

Ronin nodded.

"Okay, well, what about this?" Nod pulled me even closer and squeezed tight.

"Nod!" I laughed. Funny how just being like this with him made all my tension disappear.

"Pushing it, but yes." Ronin said.

"And how about-"

Before Nod could continue, Ronin cut him off, saying, "Just assume that you can do anything you want. But I suggest you keep the more intimatestuff behind closed doors." He shook his head as if trying to rid himself of disgusting images.

Nod and I both flushed at his choice of words and stuttered rejections of his implications. After a lot of spluttering, I finally took a breath. Our insistence wasn't doing anything other than make Ronin laugh.

"Ronin, what am I going to do? And shouldn't I tell my father? Oh, what is he going to think?!" I spewed questions at him, some of them more me thinking out loud than real questions.

"Calm down. I'll walk you through everything later, since you obviously need food and time to think. And about your father, we can contact him and have him brought here so you can speak with him." He said gently.

"Why can't I go talk to him myself?" I asked. Mandrake was dead and there shouldn't be any more danger.

"Boggins are still roaming, and many of them still want to kill you and raise Mandrake."

Great. Add that to my plate. I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you from that and anything else. I won't leave your side either." Nod said, his hand absently rubbing my back.

I nodded gratefully and just let myself melt into Nod's side.

"Why did this have to happen to _me_? What was wrong with the other one?" I looked up.

Ronin shrugged his shoulders in a nonverbal response.

I looked around and examined the room I was in. it was quite spacious and the walls were made of living plants. They overlapped and between the leaves, little bits of sunlight streamed in.

Mub was in the corner, giving Nod a glare that warned a fight was going to ensue quickly.

I glanced at Ronin and tried to tell him with my eyes that he might want to intervene.

"Ah. Mub, Grub. Why don't we give the queen some privacy and contact her father." He looked at Grub and added, "I need a skilled flier to deliver the message."

Overcome with excitement, Grub grabbed Mub's arm and drug him out the door, jabbering the whole way about being a "skilled and important flier".

"I'll leave you alone for a bit as well. Nod, you're in charge of protection of the queen." Ronin said and he began backing out of the room. He paused and stuck his head back in, saying, "Nod, don't push your luck _too _much, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Nod waved him off nonchalantly. I laughed and said my thanks and Ronin finally left, the door clicking shut into silence.

As soon as Ronin had left, Nod turned to me and scooped me up, hugging me tight. I gasped in surprise.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this." He muttered into my hair.

"Haha, I know. Me, too." I wrapped my arms around his waist and breathed in his smell. He smelled like dew and early morning air.

"Is it bad to say that I'm really happy you shrunk again?" Nod asked. "It's just not the same with you being big."

I knew how he felt. It was so much nicer talking to Nod and actually being able to sit next to him.

"Though, I'm not sure which is cooler. Having a Stomper as a friend or the queen."

My heart sank at the word _friend_. So I had been the only one.

I laughed it off, trying to not let my disappointment show on my face.

"Well, both are pretty cool right?" I asked as I pull away from him, no longer seeking the warmth he had.

"Yeah. You're pretty cool in general." Nod asked, an eyebrow raised at my sudden absence.

"Thanks." I smiled and looked away.

"M.K.?" Nod's voice was hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to go somewhere for lunch?" he glanced at me, "You know, just the two of us?"

I stared at him before breaking into grin. "Yeah. Just the two of us would be great."


End file.
